Fast results on road and track – Irish round-up

To start the week Lindie Naughton brings us all the Irish endurance action from the weekend just gone (Monday 8th April).

A meet record in  the women’s 400m proved the track highlight of the Irish Universities Championships  hosted by Queen’s University at the Mary Peters track in Belfast on Friday and Saturday (5-6 April).

Lauren Cadden (Atlantic Technological University)  won the women’s 400m in a massive personal best time of 53.38 secs. Cadden was part of the Irish 4x400m relay squad at the recent World Indoors.

In the middle distances, Lucy Holmes (MTU)  took both 800m and 1500m titles comfortably. Edel Monaghan (TUD) won the 3000m in 9:47.80.

A tactical men’s  800m  saw less than a second separating the top four finishers. Kevin McGrath (MU)  proved the winner in  a pedestrian time of 2:01.10.  In the men’s 1500m, Callum Morgan was a rare winner for the  host club QUB in a time of 4:01.60, with Dara Donoghue (DCU) second in 4:02.70.

Following his two recent road racing victories, Pierre Murchan (TCD) returned to the track and duly won the 5000m title in 14 mins 10 secs. Mark Hanrahan (UL) was second in 14:39.50. Winning the 10,000m in 31:2560 was Cathal  O’Reilly (DCU). Shane Spring (TCD) was second in 31:29.00.

Overall, DCU won the title for a sixteenth consecutive year. University of Limerick was second for fourteenth time in those years.

Road running

Attracting the largest entry of the weekend was the Omagh Half Marathon and 5km, held on Sunday (April 7) with 3,424 finishers between the two races.

Winner of the half marathon in 68:18 was Gary Hegarty (Strive RC, M35). Conán McCaughey (North Belfast Harriers) was second in 68:29, while in third place, Michael Fox was leading Armagh AC to team victory.  First woman was Ann-Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC, W40) in 75:41. St Peter’s AC was the winning women’s team.

Winners of the 5km were junior athletes Harry McKensie (Enniskillen AC, M17) and Eimear Meabh McCarroll (Finn Valley AC, U20). Their  times were 15:56 and 17:42 respectively.

Ian Guiden (Clonliffe Harriers) was a runaway winner of the Windmill Run 10k,  in Garristown Co Dublin, which incorporated the Dublin 10km Championships.

Guiden finished in 31 mins 51 secs, well clear of Anthony Sharkey in 34:12 and Ronan Dunphy (Skerries AC) in 35:12. Ciara Broderick Farrell (Liffey Valley) was first woman in 40 minutes exactly.

Luke Duffy (Tullamore Harriers, U20) won the Banagher 5km, round two of the popular Offaly 5km Road Races Series, in a chase for the line.

Duffy finished in 15 mins 41 secs with his clubmate Paul Mitchell just one second behind for second and Mick Fogarty (Ferbane AC, M45) third in 15:44. First woman was Heather Murphy  (St Michael’s AC, U20) in 17:29.  Team winners were the Tullamore Harriers men and the Naomh Mhuire AC women.

Fast times over 10 miles in County Cork

In Co Cork,  Tim O’Donoghue (East Cork AC)  was the winner of the Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10-Mile in 51 mins 37 secs. Second in 52:52 was Evan Fitzgerald.

Finishing twelfth and first woman in 57 mins 08 secs was Olympic steeplechaser Michelle Finn (Leevale AC), who was making a welcome return to racing. Kealy Tideswell (Clonmel AC, W40) was second in 59:55.

A day earlier, Andrew Tees (Belfast Association RC and FR, M40) was the winner of the Bear Races Dundalk Half Marathon in 77 min 15 secs.  First woman was Joan Flynn (Mullingar Harriers, W40) in 89:07. Winners of the 10km were Christopher O;Reilly in 34:53 and Eimear McCracken (Annadale Striders, W40) in 41:01

Aidan Jones (ESB) and Paul Fleming (Ornua), first and second, Dublin City Council BHAA 5-Mile. From Gerry Flaherty BHAA

Also on Saturday Aidan Jones was the winner in a time of 21 mins 48 secs at the Dublin City Council BHAA 4-Mile  in St Anne’s Park, Dublin. Second and first master was BHAA regular Paul Fleming in 22:19. Sixth and first woman was Laura McDonnell in 23:51, followed by Ciara Brady in 25:12.

Teams from Revenue won both the men’s grade 1 and the women’s categories. Pfizer was first of the grade 2 teams. A large group  who had signed up for the Lord Mayor’s 5-Alive Series lined out with Ken Henley Willis leading them home  in 29  mins 34 secs.

Declan Ryan (Roscommon Harriers) in 17:34 and Michelle Lannon (Carrick-on-Shannon AC, W50)  in 19:23 were the winners at the opening round of the Roscommon Harriers 5km series on Friday (April 5).